1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal device including a liquid crystal sealed between a pair of substrates and also to an electronic apparatus constructed using such a liquid crystal device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, liquid crystal devices are used as image display units in a wide variety of devices such as portable telephones, portable electronic terminals, electronic personal organizers, and other electronic devices. Liquid crystal devices are produced by bonding a pair of substrates to each other and enclosing a liquid crystal within a space called a cell gap formed between the substrates.
The substrates are each formed of, for example, a transparent substrate, and transparent electrodes are formed on both substrates such that the transparent electrodes face each other. Polarizers are disposed, as necessary, on the outer surfaces of the pair of substrates. Furthermore, if required, a color filter is disposed on the inner surface of one substrate.
In these liquid crystal devices, the alignment of the liquid crystal is controlled by varying the voltage applied between the electrodes opposing each other via the liquid crystal so as to modulate light supplied to the liquid crystal, thereby displaying an image such as a character, numeral, or pattern. In common liquid crystal devices, the control of the voltage applied between the opposing electrodes is accomplished by a liquid crystal driving integrated circuit (IC) electrically connected to the electrodes.
In a conventional liquid crystal device, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a light guide 87 serving as a panel supporting member is disposed on a main substrate 83 which is one component of an electronic apparatus such as a portable telephone, and a liquid crystal panel 82 is placed on the light guide 87. Furthermore, a cover 80 is placed thereon from above. The cover 80 is connected to the main substrate 83 by engaging an engagement lug 81 formed at the bottom of the cover 80 into an engagement hole 85 thereby fixing the liquid crystal panel 82 at a predetermined location on the main substrate 83. The cover 80 is usually formed of a metal such as stainless steel.
In the conventional liquid crystal device, the cover 80 is provided primarily to fix the liquid crystal panel 82 to the light guide 87 in such a manner that the liquid crystal panel 82 and the light guide 87 are combined together in an integral fashion. The cover also applies a uniform pressure to an elastic connector 84 disposed between the liquid crystal panel 82 and the main substrate 83, thereby electrically conductively connecting a panel-side electrode terminal formed on the liquid crystal panel 82 to a main substrate-side electrode terminal formed on the main substrate 83. However, the cover employed in the conventional liquid crystal device results in an increase in cost and also an increase in the number of assembly steps.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal device having a structure which allows a liquid crystal panel to be fixed using only a light guide (panel supporting member) without necessitating an additional member such as a cover, thereby achieving a reduction in cost.